Esoterica 1
7:37:36 PM Kate: Lady Josephine Blackwell, Baroness Shelburne, known as a bluestocking eccentric, unmarried at age 25 and verging on spinsterdom, known for being beautiful but also for reading too much. Her family isn't as wealthy as they used to be, but they kind of scrape by. Her father is still alive, but her mother died when she was quite young, and she is an only child. Had the best tutors money can buy and in subjects most young ladies don't get to learn about, as her father is pretty indulgent and quite interested in such things himself. Subjects included but not limited to Latin, Greek, classic literature (meaning the Greeks and Romans), philosophy, mathematics, Egyptology, the occult, the Otherworlds, mechanics and even, rumor has it, blacksmithing, electricity, steam engines and other completely unsuitable pursuits. 7:39:58 PM Canto: <3 7:40:12 PM Canto: I need her to have some affiliation with the British Museum. 7:42:07 PM Kate: Her father is a patron, clearly, and she probably spends time there. Her father is an earl; Jo was given the title "Baroness" for life, as an honor for doing something or discovering something years ago that has not actually been made public, and may be of a scandalous nature. (Read: I have not yet decided what it's for, but I wanna call her a baroness because it's cool and she looks like the bad guy from GI Joe. I know, I'm eight years old.) 7:42:39 PM Canto: (Yesssss. Love it.) 7:51:17 PM Canto: All right, then. The Museum has been positively abuzz with the impending arrival of one Professor Sanderson from a recent expedition in Egypt. He recently uncovered a crypt in the desert, apparently belonging to a heretofore unknown Egyptian personage. Theyre not sure who this mysterious individual is, but he was apparently very important, given the treasures and antiquities buried with him. 7:52:46 PM *** Kate tries to make arrangements to meet him. *** 7:54:48 PM Canto: You can do so! You can pull some strings. Basically he's back here to hobnob with personages such as yourself, a bit of victory lap after his triumph. 7:57:41 PM *** Kate is pretty desperate to grill him over his find. *** 7:58:55 PM Canto: You arrange to take tea with him at his apartments. He is staying with a family friend of his while he's in London. You can meet him there, or invite him to your own home, if you wish. 7:59:56 PM *** Josephine invites him to her home--an elegant, but cramped building in a very fashionable part of town. *** 8:02:42 PM Canto: All right! So you are on your way home from the Museum one evening. Probably by carriage. You look out the window as the horse clatters down the streets. 8:06:17 PM *** Josephine always looks out the window. It's not safe to have a candle in a carriage. *** 8:07:09 PM *** Josephine peers out, wondering if it's going to rain again this evening, or if it's stopped, and whether any part of the tomb will be intact. Most of them aren't, after all. *** 8:09:45 PM Canto: It was raining earlier in the day, and it's stopped for now, leaving the cobblestone wet. The clouds have parted in the sky, giving you a glimspe of the stars and the moon. Your carriage passes by another carriage, stopped on the road. This carriage was being pulled by one of those fantastic clockwork horses that were all the rage a year ago or so. They were, sadly, not terribly reliable, as this carriage driver can attest. 8:10:29 PM *** Josephine taps the roof with her parasol twice, signalling her driver to stop. *** 8:14:42 PM Canto: The driver stops! I'm assuming that you have your own driver to take you to and fro? 8:14:59 PM *** Josephine does, yes. *** 8:15:43 PM *** Josephine opens the window slat and looks for someone to offer assistance to. *** 8:19:02 PM Canto: There's just a bedraggled looking driver who's got one of the side panels of the mechano horse open, scratching his head. 8:19:10 PM Canto: He doesn't seem to have any passengers. 8:20:09 PM *** Josephine hops out. *** 8:20:26 PM Josephine: Excuse me, you seem to be in a bit of a jam. 8:20:49 PM *** Josephine opens one of the panels in the neck, without being given permission. *** 8:22:43 PM Canto: The driver, an older bloke with a gnarly beard and one milky eye scratches his head. "That I do, lass. Had this thing for all of a week and already it's bein' more tempermental than five breeding studs put together." 8:25:01 PM Josephine: Fairly typical, I'm sorry to say. When they designed the grates for the air intake they made them a bit too open, so quite often the problem can be resolved by simply looking where the air goes and picking out whatever bit of flotsam or jetsam has managed to get through. In this case... 8:25:25 PM Josephine: ... bother, it's paper. That's going to be a bit of a sticky wicket and no mistake. 8:25:26 PM Canto: He watches you, intested, his fingers pulling on his beard. 8:26:25 PM *** Josephine takes her glove off first, and checks to make sure it's off, before she puts her hand in there and picks out the wadded-up damp paper clump clogging up the works. *** 8:27:08 PM Canto: He looks at it. "Huh, such a little thing, makin' such a big problem." 8:28:56 PM Josephine: Indeed. There's a shop off Russell Square, quite near the British Museum, that does custom grates, that ought to fix the problem. 8:29:38 PM Josephine: If you're going to lay out the funds for this sort of thing I imagine you're not going to balk at springing for a proper air intake. 8:30:20 PM Josephine: Oh, and word to the wise: You'll find the knee joints require oil before the rest of it, so be sure to check those often. 8:31:46 PM Canto: He scratches his beard. "Oh, I suppose not. Though I didn't buy the beastie per se, I won 'er. Still, I can afford to make sure she's runnin' well. Thank you fer yer help, lass." 8:33:03 PM Josephine: Oh, I see! Well, if she doesn't run as she should, do call on me . Here. 8:33:20 PM *** Josephine hands him her card from a card case in her pocket. *** 8:34:57 PM Canto: He squints at the card. "Oh, my! Thank you, milady. Awful kind of you to take the time to help an old gambler out." 8:36:32 PM Josephine: Think nothing of it. And good luck with her. 8:37:14 PM *** Josephine smiles, hops back into her carriage, and knocks once on the ceiling, signalling her driver to drive. *** 8:37:31 PM Canto: He nods, giving a little bow. 8:37:42 PM Canto: You continue home! 8:38:46 PM *** Josephine keeps looking out, mind wandering back to Egypt. *** 8:41:54 PM Canto: Nothing else happens! Does she live alone? 8:43:50 PM *** Josephine does, but she has just a married couple of servants; a woman who cleans and cooks for her and her male driver/butler/etc.. Her father's house has a full staff but she just has the two in town. *** 8:49:21 PM Canto: Okay! The rest of the evening is rather uneventful. You're brought the nightly newspapers and peruse the news of the day: More mysterious disappearences, a phenomenon which has been going on for weeks now. Another story talks about how the transatlantic dirigibles are going to be adding another route. A third story talks about an illicit human traficking ring that was disrupted by the Jack of Blades, a famous/infamous vigilante operating in London. 8:50:10 PM *** Josephine approves of that guy, and as always, wonders who it is and who funds him. *** 8:53:07 PM | Edited 8:54:51 PM Canto: Really 'Jack of Blades' is a popular name for a person or persons that no one's ever been able to verify the actual existence of! But still, he's been popularized in several series of penny dreafuls. 8:54:38 PM Canto: dreadfuls, too. 8:55:37 PM Canto: So, the rest of your evening is uneventful. The next day is your tea with Professor Sanderson. 8:55:38 PM *** Josephine thinks he exists! She's a secret romantic about things like that. *** 8:58:16 PM *** Josephine has to be told twice to get ready, as she was busy reading and often forgets the time, but she does still take special pains to look presentable, afternoon gown and hairstyle and all. *** 9:02:44 PM Canto: Afternoon tea rolls around and Professor Sanderson shows up, an older but vital man in his late forties, sporting a red tint to his skin that marks the time he recently spent on his expedition. But he's very presentable, in a fine suit. 9:04:18 PM *** Josephine greets him graciously and pours the tea herself, as she is the hostess and she doesn't like to be served like it's a formal occasion all the time. *** 9:04:44 PM Josephine: Everyone is all agog over your discoveries. Tell me, have you found any text indicating whose tomb it might be? 9:09:53 PM Canto: Sanderson: It's quite the conundrum, isn't it? What's so amazing about this discovery is the richness of the tomb compared and its contents as compared to its relative remoteness. Another conundrum is the scarcity of markings in the tomb itself. No hieroglyphs, no pictograms, barely any decoration itself, save a single statue of Anubis. 9:10:07 PM | Edited 9:10:17 PM Canto: Sanderson: Anubis, of course, my dear Baroness, is... 9:11:27 PM Josephine: Yes, I'm quite aware, guardian of cemeteries and the dead. 9:11:45 PM Canto: Sanderson: Yes, yes, quite so. 9:12:04 PM Josephine: No markings? Not obliterated markings, such as one would get if a king or queen were repudiated after death? 9:15:03 PM Canto: Sanderson: Oh my, I see you are quite well-read on these matters. Yes, we could find nothing in the tomb itself. It would seem that our best bet for identification would be the artifacts themselves, which is why we-- I thought it best if I come back with them. The expedition is still ongoing of course, in the capable hands of my assistant back in Egypt. 9:15:58 PM Josephine: You must trust your assistant a good deal. 9:16:16 PM Josephine: If it were me, I think I would have to be torn away from the site by wild horses. 9:18:28 PM Canto: Sanderson: Oh, it was quite important that I bring the artifacts back and saw to their analysis personally, of course. I hated to leave, naturally, but. 9:18:55 PM Canto: Sanderson: Suffice it to say, that if anything else were to turn up, I would be on the first train back. Indeed. 9:19:00 PM Canto: He sips at his tea. 9:19:49 PM Josephine: Mmm. One would try to fly if one could. 9:20:30 PM Canto: Sanderson: Between you and me, those 'airships' give me the willies. 9:20:39 PM *** Josephine shrugs. *** 9:21:05 PM Josephine: They are not as comfortable as one would hope, but certainly better than an ordinary train. 9:21:24 PM Josephine: I do hope you follow the methods of Mr. Petrie. 9:21:55 PM Josephine: Once he finished shouting at me about bungling amateurs and people with more money than brains he was quite persuasive. 9:24:28 PM Canto: Sanderson: Oh, of course, of course. We take the utmost care, miss, I assure you. Though I've not met the man myself, my assistant was a student of his. 9:25:36 PM Josephine: Preservation and science above all. 9:26:13 PM Josephine: Some still insist on grabbing all they can get their hands on, hardly better than common tomb-robbers. 9:26:50 PM Josephine: Of course, your reputation is superior. 9:29:04 PM Canto: Sanderson: Oh, I should hope so, of course. Tomb-robbers, hmph. 9:29:21 PM Canto: Roll a die for me! 9:30:02 PM Josephine: ((6/10!)) 9:32:15 PM Canto: It becomes pretty clear that Sanderson... while not an idiot, might be one of those 'bungling amateurs' and this is why his 'assistant' sent him on ahead with the artifacts. It gets Sanderson out of the expedition's hair, and makes sure that the artifacts are secured at the museum. 9:33:37 PM *** Josephine is quite disappointed by this, but endeavors to find out who the assistant is, as well as anything else about the expedition she can. *** 9:40:47 PM Canto: The artifacts are genuine, however. The assistant in question is one Rycroft Winslow, a bright young archaelogist and something of a fledgling explorer who passed up the chance to go on one of Amundsen's expeditions to go dig in the desert sands with Sanderson. 9:42:30 PM *** Josephine makes a note of the name and decides to send him a telegram later. *** 9:43:09 PM *** Josephine is still as kind to Sanderson as possible, and mentions she's surprised he had time to meet her, given his no doubt busy schedule. *** 9:44:22 PM Canto: He is a very cordial sort, and knowledgeable in his own way, really. 9:45:23 PM Canto: Sanderson: Oh, I am always happy to meet any seekers of knowledge. I do hope you'll come to the viewing of the artifacts on the 21st! 9:46:14 PM Josephine: I would not miss it for the world. 9:48:20 PM Canto: Sanderson: It will be quite the affair; anyone who is anyone will be there, I'm told. 9:49:06 PM Josephine: Dear me. I hope that doesn't mean I won't get an invitation. 9:50:40 PM Canto: Sanderson: I will personally guarantee that you will be receiving one, Baroness Blackwell, if you weren't on the list already. 9:51:26 PM Josephine: Excellent! I do so look forward to it. 9:54:09 PM Canto: He nods, and sips at his tea. "Ahh. I have missed proper British tea, I must say." 9:55:52 PM Josephine: I am rather partial to coffee as well. 9:56:49 PM Canto: Sanderson gives a slight frown. "Never could stomach the stuff, myself. Though I know many of my younger contemporaries swear by it." 9:57:34 PM Josephine: Quite conducive to thought when taken in the morning, I find. 10:01:32 PM *** Josephine continues to make small talk and chat about Egyptology with him until the tea is over. *** 10:01:55 PM Canto: Easy enough! And we can end it there for now. :) 4:27:12 PM Josephine: ((Heeeeeeeeeere!)) 4:28:43 PM Canto: So! Miss Blackwell had taken tea with Professor Sanderson! 4:29:42 PM *** Josephine had! *** 4:32:37 PM Canto: She had learned ,to her dismay, that the professor was not the mastermind behind the recently successful dig in Egypt. 4:33:03 PM *** Josephine had! *** 4:33:15 PM *** Josephine did find out that at least there is one, though. *** 4:34:02 PM Canto: Indeed, the professor's assistant, one Rycroft Winslow, seemed to be the one calling the shots and keeping things orderly. He's the one still in charge of the expedition back in Egypt. 4:35:07 PM *** Josephine makes an inquiry to him via telegram, with a letter to follow. *** 4:37:40 PM Canto: Okay. Well, that evening, after your tea, you experience a night of troubled dreams and frequently interrupted sleep. Strange dreams are not uncommon to you, of course, given your abilities. These dreams you don't recall clearly, though. 4:39:00 PM *** Josephine tries not to fret about it, and gets dressed in the morning. *** 4:44:50 PM Canto: So there are several days ahead of you before the viewing of the artifacts. The next morning, you awaken, and there are several invitations waiting for you, as is usual. Invitations to tea, one or two invitations to some social occasion with a hopeful suitor. 4:45:31 PM *** Josephine checks to see if they're idiots. *** 4:53:51 PM Canto: The suitors? Yes. One is a dullwitted pedant who has been making overtures for months now who seems only interested in how you'll look on his arm. The other is a kind-hearted but severely uninterested man who makes these overtures purely to get his family off his back and stave off rumors of his unwholesome proclivities. 4:54:33 PM Canto: (Read: He's probably homosexual.) 4:56:21 PM *** Josephine declines the first one (politely) and accepts the second one. If nothing else he can read a newspaper in peace that way. *** 4:59:39 PM Canto: Pretty much. He's a perfectly pleasant man. Not really an intellectual or anything, but still pretty intelligent, a decent conversationalist. The last is an invitation is to a Seance with the famed Madame Cassandra. 5:00:23 PM *** Josephine accepts that one. She's got a strong desire to find out if the woman is real or faking. *** 5:02:57 PM Canto: This being 1895 in a strongly magical world, Seances are ALL the rage. 5:04:28 PM *** Josephine finds the idea of exposing a fake one very attractive indeed. *** 5:05:38 PM Canto: Hee, nice. Well, this is shaping up to be quite the social event, as well. 5:07:29 PM *** Josephine is quite interested in who else might be on the guest list. *** 5:10:39 PM Canto: No indications! The invitation comes from one Baroness Emberly, who I will let you decide your relationship with her! Maybe you know her in passing, maybe you move in the same circles, all your call, and I will roll with what you come up with. 5:13:32 PM *** Josephine is a vague acquaintance, although Baroness Emberly fancies herself Josie's chief rival as a beauty and a social butterfly. *** 5:15:56 PM *** Josephine really doesn't care about that sort of thing, though, and rumor has it that Baroness Emberly is regarded as getting just a hair too old (she's slightly younger than Josie) and may have denied all the suitors she is actually capable of getting. *** 5:16:22 PM Canto: Okay, nice. :) 5:19:40 PM Canto: The Seance will be taking place the night after the showing of the artifact, so it's shaping up to be an eventful week! 5:21:26 PM *** Josephine likes that! *** 5:21:42 PM *** Josephine has also rather decided not to get married. Her father assures her that she doesn't need to. *** 5:25:41 PM Canto: So what does she do with her days for the most part? 5:25:49 PM *** Josephine studies. *** 5:26:36 PM *** Josephine also writes to various people in social capacities--writers, academics, scientists, occultists, stage magicians, anyone with a good reputation for being interesting and educated, or having an interesting talent. *** 5:34:36 PM Canto: Makes sense. Correspondence is definitely a thing. What do you talk about? 5:35:26 PM *** Josephine talks to them about whatever their interests or specialties are. She collects people a bit like Professor Slughorn. *** 5:46:17 PM Canto: Okay! Well! The next few days are fairly uneventful, up till the showing at the Museum, so we'll just move forward to then! 5:48:08 PM *** Josephine gets quite excited about it, and decides to dress in colors the ancient Egyptians would have appreciated--white, lapis lazuli blue, turquoise and gold. Nothing too obvious, more of a vague allusion than anything. She is far too sensible to think she's Cleopatra reincarnated or something. *** 5:49:30 PM Canto: Reincarnation is another fad that's big right now! 5:51:06 PM *** Josephine thinks if she were an Egyptian anything, she was an illiterate poverty-stricken peasant with no teeth who died of dysentery. *** 5:51:15 PM *** Josephine is in some ways not very romantic at all. *** 5:54:28 PM Canto: Hee. Well, there are so many people who think they're Cleopatra in your social circles that its rather silly. 5:56:53 PM Josephine: ((Indeed. Although there were of course multiple of those.)) 5:59:29 PM Canto: Yeah, but we're talkin 'THE' Cleopatra, of course. In any case! You shove off to the museum in your carriage! 6:02:15 PM *** Josephine has to force herself not to run inside, but is nonetheless a bit breathless when she steps in. *** 6:07:15 PM Canto: The interior is crowded! This is after all quiet a social occasion. There are far too many people here to be seen, rather than any kind of actual interest in the subject matter. 6:08:55 PM *** Josephine grumps about amateurs and tries to find the museum director himself. *** 6:10:46 PM Canto: He's there with Sanderson, gladhanding with patrons and investors in the display room. 6:12:25 PM *** Josephine greets them both politely and tries to work out if there's anyone else more interesting in the room. *** 6:23:25 PM Canto: There is a smattering of people you recognize and some you do not! You spot a woman you don't recognize chatting with... or at, an uninterested young man studying a canoptic jar under the glass doing his best to ignore her. You spot two men discussing some ushabti behind a velvet rope. You spot a regal looking, tall, very handsome gentleman studying a jeweled amulet. 6:25:25 PM *** Josephine goes with the guy looking at the amulet, then. "Pardon me, but you seem terribly intent on that amulet. Do you feel it is a fake?" *** 6:26:35 PM Canto: Gentleman: Oh, it is quite genuine. 6:27:12 PM Canto: He speaks flawless english but with a pronounced eastern european accent. 6:29:11 PM Josephine: Then why the interest? Are you looking for script? 6:31:02 PM Josephine: I have been told there isn't any. Which is quite intriguing. 6:36:04 PM Canto: He looks over at you. His eyes are quite stunning, a watery crystal blue. "There wouldn't be, I don't think. He was considered a heretic." 6:36:59 PM Josephine: I thought perhaps it might be something like that. But how do you know? 6:41:25 PM Canto: He smiles, vaguely. "Perhaps I knew him." He turns his attention back to the amulet. "He was a powerful sorcerer. Not a priest -- he was rather heretical." 6:42:01 PM Josephine: Ah, a believer in reincarnation, then. 6:44:44 PM Canto: Man: Are you not? 6:45:01 PM Josephine: I have an open mind. ... but not very open. 6:47:25 PM Canto: He chuckles lightly. "That seems very.... wise." 6:48:07 PM Josephine: Lady Josephine Blackwell, by the way. 6:51:54 PM Canto: He nods, and turns toward you, holding out his hand. "Duke Vlad Tzimisce." 6:53:10 PM *** Josephine shakes it. *** 6:54:02 PM Josephine: My Lord Duke. Dear me, if I'd known we'd have a duke in the audience I wouldn't've worn my third best necklace. 6:56:55 PM Josephine: And I would have waited for a proper introduction. I do hope you'll forgive my impertinence, Your Grace. 6:57:55 PM Canto: He smiles. "My lands are far from here, I'm afraid. The title means very little, though it does get me invited to places I normally wouldn't tread. Think nothing of it, Lady." He raises your hand to his mouth and kisses it! 6:58:52 PM *** Josephine smiles. *** 6:58:57 PM Josephine: Do you not care for museums? 7:01:49 PM Josephine: Speaking of necklaces, there's a lovely exhibit of faience beads here. I do particularly like that shade of blue. 7:03:08 PM Canto: Tzimisce smiles. "I find so little of interest in most museums. Do lead the way, my lady." 7:04:30 PM *** Josephine leads him to the other side of the room where the rest of the Egyptological exhibits are. Very few people are paying attention to them, alas, in the shiny glory of the new things. *** 7:05:30 PM Josephine: Tiny representations of the gods. 7:06:54 PM *** Josephine indicates several beaded necklaces. "Marvellous detail. It's so odd to think they're simple ceramic underneath--they're every bit as beautiful as gems. Perhaps we don't give ceramic enough credit in our modern era." *** 7:09:01 PM Canto: Tzimisce: We live in an era of the new and the novel, don't we? 7:09:50 PM Josephine: Yes. But we can still learn from the past. 7:11:02 PM Josephine: They make my poor aquamarines seem shabby. 7:12:23 PM Canto: He smiles, and looks at your necklace. "Oh, I quite like them." 7:13:52 PM Josephine: Mmm. More glitter, but quite a bit less style. But you see, Dr. Sanderson does not have a monopoly on bringing beautiful things back to London. 7:16:58 PM Canto: Tzimisce: So what is your interest, Lady? Clearly you are not so enamored with Egypt because it is fasionable. 7:20:20 PM Josephine: No. I am a dilettante; Egyptology truly holds only a small space in my heart, which is quite crowded with Greek texts, mechanical horses, Roman ruins and letters from abroad. 7:25:22 PM Canto: Tzimisce: Ahh, a polymath, then. Very admirable. 7:26:28 PM Josephine: My father says I'm easily distracted. 7:31:56 PM Canto: Tzimisce: Is he right? 7:32:38 PM Josephine: There is more truth in it than I'd like. 7:32:54 PM Josephine: ... but you mustn't allow me to monopolize you entirely. Who else would you like to meet? 7:46:46 PM Canto: Tzimisce smiles. "Oh, I don't think that at all, I find you very agreeable company, and unlike many others here, I came to view the artifacts, not to... meet people." 7:47:35 PM Josephine: I'm here to do both, actually. 7:48:30 PM Josephine: Dr. Sanderson is not as helpful as I had hoped. He is very kind, though. Quite a few people wouldn't take so kindly to a female amateur's impertinent questions. 7:50:53 PM Canto: Tzmisce: I suppose a learned woman is still a rarity in this society. 7:51:32 PM Josephine: It is a rarity in most societies, I'm afraid. 7:51:58 PM Josephine: Quite probably because most people react as though you've left your hat on in the theater. 7:53:17 PM Canto: Tzimisce: Hmph. 7:53:42 PM Canto: He turns his attention back to the case, and some lovingly carved cat figurines. 7:53:49 PM Josephine: ... a very tall hat. 7:55:21 PM Canto: Tzimisce: And yet you are not cowed. 7:56:06 PM Josephine: I am in a position in which I needn't be. 7:59:57 PM Canto: Tzimisce: You refer to your station? 8:00:23 PM *** Josephine nods. *** 8:01:39 PM Josephine: And wealth. If we were ruined suddenly, it might be quite different. I might have to worry about acquiring a husband, perhaps one with wealth enough to support us all. Fortunately, this does not appear to be a necessity at present. 8:03:09 PM Canto: Tzimisce: Oh, you are not married? 8:03:13 PM Canto: He seems very surprised. 8:03:29 PM *** Josephine laughs. *** 8:03:35 PM Josephine: Of course not. 8:04:08 PM Canto: Tzimisce: Why is it laughable? 8:04:50 PM Josephine: The tall hat, remember? I'm not the least bit suitable for such a thing. 8:05:39 PM Canto: Tzimisce: I see. 8:05:48 PM Canto: He smiles charmingly! Gimme a roll. 8:06:32 PM Josephine: ((5. Oh dear.)) 8:08:36 PM Canto: That's not bad! That's half of a d10! 8:14:34 PM *** Josephine smiles back! *** 8:15:14 PM Canto: He is very happy to let you lead him around the displays. He asks all kinds of questions, and it becomes clear that he's not really an expert on Egyptology. 8:17:22 PM *** Josephine also does introduce him to some notables there, and tries to slip away so she can meet a few other new people as well, though not in an unfriendly way. *** 8:17:29 PM Canto: His interest seems almost... personal. 8:19:07 PM *** Josephine figures he thinks he was Rameses or something of that nature. *** 8:19:11 PM Canto: But! He does eventually stop monopolizing your time so that you can mingle. 8:19:36 PM *** Josephine mingles! Anyone else interesting looking around? *** 8:23:28 PM Canto: The young man from earlier who was studying the canoptic jar has moved on to the amulet that Tzimisce was studying. The woman who was talking ot him earlier has moved onto talking another young men who seems much more interested him. The two men are arguing about the ushabti. One of them seems convinced that it's a fake. 8:24:36 PM *** Josephine goes back to the young man with the amulet. "There's quite a bit of interest in that piece tonight. Is it the colors, do you think, or just that everyone recognizes gold?" *** 8:29:47 PM Canto: He looks over at you, and shrugs. He's good looking. Not as tall and dark as handsome as the Duke. Blue eyes, dark hair, clean-shaven. When he speaks, he speaks with an american accent. "Could be all the magic in it." 8:30:01 PM Josephine: ... excuse me? 8:34:13 PM Canto: He looks at the amulet. "It's mostly eroded at this point. With time and disuse. Some kind of weather enchantment." 8:35:26 PM Josephine: Oh. Do you... er... practice, then? 8:41:45 PM Canto: He shrugs. "A bit. Hermetic magics aren't my thing. But I know it when I see it." 8:42:24 PM Josephine: Is that why you were invited? To ensure we wouldn't start a hurricane or something right here at the party? 8:47:09 PM Canto: He shakes his head. "Oh, no. The most you could do with that thing is a light fog. You'd hardly notice in London." 8:47:30 PM Josephine: Well, I doubt I could do much with it. Are any of the other pieces magic? 8:48:43 PM Canto: He points at the canoptic jar. "That thing makes me nervous." 8:49:46 PM Josephine: What's a heart or a brain between friends. 8:52:50 PM *** Josephine smiles at him. *** 8:54:04 PM Canto: He shrugs. "They only found one jar." 8:54:29 PM Canto: Man: Not even any shards of other jars. 8:56:10 PM Josephine: Tomb raiders, perhaps? 8:57:08 PM Canto: Man: Strange that they'd take jars and not the jeweled amulet. 8:57:30 PM Josephine: Well, we're not seeing them in situ. 8:57:37 PM Josephine: It's quite possible the amulet was underneath a jar. 8:57:44 PM Josephine: Or some other object. 8:57:57 PM Josephine: Quite frequently they place such things inside mummies. 8:58:22 PM Canto: Man: And there is some magic on the jar. It's not a complete enchantment like the amulet, but part of a larger effect. 8:59:16 PM Josephine: That's quite interesting. 8:59:41 PM Josephine: I'm afraid I don't know much about practicing magic, Mr...? 9:01:37 PM Canto: He holds out a hand. "Crafter. Prometheus Crafter. Sorry, I should have introduced myself sooner." 9:02:06 PM Josephine: Mr. Crafter, then. 9:02:11 PM *** Josephine shakes his hand politely. *** 9:03:54 PM Josephine: Lady Josephine Blackwell, Baroness Shelburne. You sound American, is that right? 9:06:01 PM Canto: Theo: That it is. A pleasure, Lady. 9:07:00 PM Josephine: Mmm. Just a hint, then. I'm Lady Josephine, Baroness Shelburne, or even My Lord, Your Lordship, or Your Ladyship. But, and this is the tricky part, not My Lady. 9:09:21 PM Canto: Theo: Well, I haven't gotten one title right since I've gotten to the museum tonight. But thank you for the warning. 9:10:23 PM Josephine: It's needlessly baroque. You can just call me Josie if you want. I haven't had a good scandal in years. 9:12:46 PM Canto: Theo: What was the last one? 9:13:15 PM Josephine: Well, technically, I approached a man I didn't know in the street the other day, I suppose. 9:13:59 PM Canto: Theo: Why is that? 9:14:43 PM Josephine: Oh, he had one of those lovely mechanical horses. 9:14:58 PM Josephine: They're so finicky. It rained, you see, and a bit of paper got in and jammed up the works. 9:15:57 PM Josephine: It's just that if you don't know what you're doing you can end up in street all day waiting for a repairman to come. 9:18:01 PM Canto: Theo: Overengineered contrivances. Clockwork is as baroque as hierarchy. 9:18:39 PM Josephine: I can't help but like them anyway. 9:19:04 PM Josephine: Anyway, we got the paper out and she was up and running again in a jif. 9:20:23 PM Canto: Theo: Not bad. You know a lot about Engineering? 9:20:51 PM Josephine: I don't think I know a lot about much. 9:26:10 PM Canto: Theo raises an eyebrow. "Not many people would know how to fix a mechano-horse." 9:26:41 PM Josephine: Pulling out a wad of damp newsprint isn't really fixing it. 9:27:21 PM Josephine: I advised him to switch out the intake grate for one with closer holes, but I didn't exactly jury-rig one on the spot myself. 9:27:51 PM Josephine: .... blast, I should have used hatpins to ... well, it would have been temporary in any case. 9:29:51 PM Canto: Theo: What would you have done? 9:30:54 PM Josephine: Well, hatpins are very flexible. 9:31:13 PM Josephine: I could've woven them into the grating he had, if I'd thought of it, and created a barrier against more paper. 9:31:24 PM Josephine: ... of course then my hat wouldn't've stayed on. 9:34:21 PM Canto: Theo: Clever. A makeshift metal grating with a small current running through it would repel other pollutants as well. 9:35:24 PM Canto: Theo looks around. "Do you come to a lot of these functions?" 9:36:20 PM Josephine: At the museum? Frequently. 9:36:27 PM Josephine: My father is a patron, I suppose you could say. 9:37:19 PM Canto: Theo: But you come because you're interested. 9:37:55 PM Josephine: Yes, of course. 9:38:08 PM Josephine: Aren't you? 9:40:10 PM Canto: Theo: Of course. But.... 9:41:47 PM Josephine: But what? 9:41:58 PM Canto: He indicates one side of the room throughly given over to high-society types there just to be seen. 9:42:13 PM Josephine: Oh, who cares about them, come and look at our faience bead collection. 9:42:35 PM *** Josephine takes his hand and tugs him gently over to the bead display. *** 9:45:51 PM Canto: He goes along! "I just mean. Ther'es a lot of people here who don't know what faience is." 9:46:07 PM Josephine: Yes, but you're not one of them. 9:46:17 PM Josephine: Aren't the colors glorious? 9:46:47 PM Josephine: ... besides, they'd be less impressed if they knew it was only ceramic. 9:47:38 PM Canto: He looks at the beads. "Ceramic is extremely useful. Properly tempered, it's very strong, and light." 9:47:58 PM Josephine: And beautiful. Look at their faces. 9:50:34 PM Josephine: And the colors! 9:51:09 PM Josephine: ... sorry, you're not the least bit interested, are you? I'm terribly sorry, I just get carried away sometimes. And people are so busy looking at the new things nobody bothers about the pieces we had before. 9:51:24 PM Canto: He's very intent on the piece, actually! 9:51:48 PM *** Josephine figures he's faking it to be polite. *** 9:52:50 PM | Edited 9:55:12 PM Canto: Theo: ... it was made by the glass smith as a gift. The figures are meant to represent family members. Honored ancestors. 9:54:03 PM Josephine: ... what? 9:54:48 PM Canto: Theo: Intent translates pretty well with a piece like this. 9:55:22 PM Josephine: You did magic on it? 9:56:07 PM Canto: Theo: I analyzed it. It's an... aptitude of mine. 9:56:19 PM Canto: Roll! 9:56:32 PM Josephine: ((7!)) 9:58:32 PM Canto: He's being very polite and respectful, but he kinda bristles at the mentions of 'magic'. 9:59:27 PM Josephine: ... sorry, what... do you call it if it's not magic? 10:02:29 PM Canto: Theo: ... I don't really think of myself as a magician. I'm a scientist. Magic... especially here.... has some connotations I don't like. All the seances. The spiritualism. The damn Golden Dawn. 10:02:51 PM Josephine: It is ridiculous. 10:03:07 PM Josephine: But you've got to have some sort of word for it. 10:08:56 PM Canto: Theo: Maybe. Alchemy. Thaumaturgy. Arcanoscience is the one my mother likes. 10:10:36 PM Josephine: Your mother does it too, hm? ... I don't suppose you could do that with other pieces? I could take notes. It could add a lot of valuable information to what we have. 10:11:20 PM Canto: Theo: Not with all of them. The maker put a lot of himself in this piece. 10:11:54 PM Josephine: Just some of them, then? 10:12:29 PM Canto: Theo nods. "I could likely get you some information. Not verifiable, I'm afraid." 10:13:39 PM Josephine: Mmm, some of it might be. 10:27:09 PM Canto: He smiles. "Lead on." 10:27:35 PM Josephine: Wait, I haven't got a notebook. 10:29:19 PM Canto: He reaches into his breast pocket and draws one out. 10:29:40 PM Josephine: You're amazing! Thank you. 10:29:47 PM *** Josephine takes it. *** 10:29:48 PM Josephine: Pencil? 10:30:09 PM Canto: He hands one over! The notebook is filled with all kinds of notes and sketches and plans and formulae. 10:33:02 PM *** Josephine has to resist looking at all his stuff. *** 10:33:06 PM *** Josephine turns it to a new page. *** 10:33:24 PM Josephine: All right. Let's start with the faience case. ... it's always been my favorite. 5:17:50 PM *** Josephine was taking notes on Theo's thaumaturgical analysis. *** 5:25:16 PM Canto: Indeed! He can give you little bits and pieces of information on the various pieces. Some more than others... it depends on the, as he says, the intent and will of the craftsman who made them. 5:25:59 PM *** Josephine forgets about the party a bit, though she's still friendly to anyone who talks to her. And also offers Theo a cup of tea. *** 5:27:47 PM Canto: He accepts it! It takes it with not a few sugar cubes. 5:28:35 PM Josephine: I wasn't entirely certain you'd accept. Don't Americans typically prefer coffee? 5:32:32 PM Canto: Theo: Generally, but when in Rome and all that. 5:33:17 PM Josephine: In Rome we would be drinking wine, I should think. 5:36:35 PM Canto: Theo: Well, I've been in London long enough that I've learned to adapt. Thank you. 5:37:49 PM Josephine: Of course there are coffee-houses. 5:41:27 PM Canto: Theo: They mostly sell that french-style stuff. Makes the coffee taste burnt. 5:42:03 PM Josephine: Dear me, have I been drinking burnt-tasting coffee? 5:44:35 PM Canto: Theo: Well, tastes are subjective, of course. 5:44:44 PM Canto: He smiles! 5:44:54 PM Canto: Gimme a d10 roll. 5:45:35 PM Josephine: This is true. 5:46:03 PM Josephine: ((8!)) 5:54:29 PM Canto: You notice Duke Tzimisce from earlier trying to get your attention as you sit at one of the small tables and take tea with mr. Crafter. 5:55:37 PM *** Josephine smiles at him and waves him over. *** 5:59:11 PM Canto: He comes over, eyeing Theo briefly and perhaps a little dismissively before turning his attention to you. "Baroness. A great pleasure to see you again. I hope you've enjoyed your evening." 5:59:58 PM Josephine: Indeed. Please, sit, I'll pour you a cup of tea. This is Mr. Prometheus Crafter. All the way from America. 6:06:20 PM Canto: Theo stands and offers a hand Tzimisce! Tzimisce takes his hand and gives it a shake. "Oh, there is no need for that," The Duke says, turing his attention back to you. "I was about to take my leave and I had hoped to bid you a good evening." 6:07:21 PM *** Josephine stands up. *** 6:07:48 PM Josephine: Truly? It is so early yet. Well, in any case, I do hope you visit us again. You haven't even seen the other wings. 6:09:23 PM Canto: He smiles. "I have seen what I wished to see. Would I be imposing on your hospitality if I were to ask you to see me to the entrance?" 6:11:26 PM Josephine: Only if Mr. Crafter objects. 6:13:36 PM Canto: Theo nods at the Duke and smiles at you. "Of course not. I was worried that I was monopolizing your time." 6:14:17 PM Josephine: Nonsense, I have all evening. 6:14:31 PM *** Josephine stands up. *** 6:14:35 PM Josephine: This way, Your Grace. 6:19:42 PM Canto: Theo nods as you walk the Duke out of the exhibit into one of the more quiet areas of the musuem. 6:22:41 PM Josephine: It is so nice to find people with a genuine interest. 6:23:21 PM Canto: Duke: Oh? 6:24:01 PM Josephine: One gets used to being found tedious, I suppose. 6:27:07 PM Canto: Duke: Who could ever find you tedious, Baroness? I find you very engaging. 6:28:42 PM Josephine: You haven't heard me natter on about clockwork horses or steam engines, or even the proper declension of Latin words. 6:34:16 PM Canto: Duke: Well, that is true. Perhaps we could meet again and you could tell me all about steam engines. 6:34:42 PM *** Josephine laughs. *** 6:35:03 PM Josephine: I would enjoy that a great deal; you, on the other hand, might find yourself sorry you extended the invitation. 6:41:37 PM Canto: The Duke smiles. "Well, i think I should be the judge of that." 6:42:12 PM Josephine: Perhaps. 6:42:31 PM Josephine: I give you my permission to call on me, then. As if you needed it. 6:44:06 PM Canto: Duke: I appreciate the... invitation, my dear Baroness. 6:44:58 PM *** Josephine smiles, and gives him her hand again. *** 6:48:16 PM Canto: He takes it, and raises it to his lips! Roll me a d10. 6:49:49 PM Josephine: ((1.)) 6:50:07 PM Canto: Oh dear. 6:50:15 PM Josephine: ((BECAUSE OF COURSE IT IS.)) 7:02:26 PM Canto: There is a strange glint in his eye as he leans down to kiss your hand, lightly, gentlemanly. "I look forward to our next meeting, my lovely Baroness." 7:04:39 PM Josephine: I shall hate to disappoint you. 7:04:46 PM *** Josephine curtseys and heads back into the museum. *** 7:07:34 PM Canto: Okay! You head back inside! 7:08:08 PM *** Josephine returns to Crafter, if he's still there. *** 7:15:33 PM Canto: He is indeed! He is chatting with a woman who has that 'pleasant smile but I'm not really listening/following what you're saying' plastered on her face. 7:16:14 PM *** Josephine rescues her by taking Theo's arm. "Dear Mr. Crafter, we aren't quite done with our notes." *** 7:18:07 PM Canto: Theo smiles. "Oh, welcome back.. Yes, indeed. Thank you for your time, Miss." He nods toward the woman, who moves on to a less complicated companion! 7:20:14 PM Josephine: I hope you're enjoying yourself. 7:25:02 PM Canto: Theo: Well, she started talking about hats. Then I told her about this hat I designed that had all kinds of pockets in it, then I might have started babbling on about inventions. 7:25:30 PM Josephine: Pockets? What sort of pockets? ... men's hats have a great deal more room to them than women's hats, you know. 7:27:11 PM Canto: Theo: Well... you know that magician's trick where they pull things out of their hat? This hat creates a kkind of extra-aetherial space that you can use as storage. 7:28:49 PM Josephine: How much would something like that cost? 7:29:58 PM Canto: Theo: Cost? I don't know. I never got it beyond the design phase, what with the missing heads. 7:31:21 PM Josephine: ... oh dear. In that case, I shall forget I asked. 7:31:31 PM Josephine: Tell me, where are you staying here in town? 7:36:22 PM Canto: Theo: Though it's easy enough to use the same process on a sachel, something you needn't worry about losing a hand to... oh, I'm staying in the home of a friend of mine. 7:36:26 PM Canto: He gives you the address! 7:37:29 PM Josephine: Oh, good. If it had been a hotel I would've had to badger papa into letting you stay with him. 7:39:50 PM Canto: Theo smiles, surprised. "You would have done that?" 7:42:03 PM Josephine: Of course! Hotels are vile. So uncomfortable and you can never do what you like. 7:46:45 PM Canto: Theo: You are quite kind, Baroness. 7:49:09 PM Josephine: Perhaps I merely wanted to hold you captive while I lectured you on Norse myths and clockwork horses. 7:55:51 PM Canto: Theo: I can think of worse fates. I was once held captive by an extremely irate werecat who thought I was the reincarnation of his ancient enemy. 7:57:44 PM *** Josephine laughs. *** 7:57:53 PM Josephine: ... wait, you're serious, aren't you? 7:59:34 PM Canto: Theo: Sadly, yes. 8:00:56 PM Josephine: ... you have had a very interesting life. 8:02:57 PM Canto: Theo: That I have. It's not always a good thing, mind you. 8:05:21 PM Josephine: No? I suppose you're so busy fighting werecats you don't have time to fiddle with clockwork horses. 8:06:38 PM Canto: Theo: Something like that. Mind you, most werecats are perfectly fine people. 8:08:37 PM Canto: Theo: I am very surprised there aren't any here, mind you. Most trace their ancestry back to Egypt. 8:09:23 PM Josephine: How do you know I'm not one myself? 8:14:53 PM Canto: Theo: That's very true. I suppose I don't. Usually I can tell, but there are ways of hiding one's nature. 8:15:35 PM Josephine: Grrarr. 8:15:40 PM *** Josephine makes a mock-clawing motion. *** 8:16:43 PM Canto: Theo: Also, they usually do not do that. 8:17:06 PM Josephine: I would assume not. 8:17:14 PM Josephine: I am not, in fact, a werecat. 8:20:47 PM Josephine: I hope that doesn't disappoint you. 8:22:01 PM Canto: Theo: Why would it? 8:22:07 PM Canto: He smiles. 8:22:41 PM Canto: Theo: I just mean, most of them trace their lineage back to Bast. 8:23:14 PM Josephine: Goddess of war, and a lot of other things besides. 8:24:39 PM Canto: Theo nods. "So, what do you think of reincarnation? It's all the rage these days, isn't it?" 8:25:16 PM Josephine: It seems a little silly to me, though I try not to say it to believers. 8:25:40 PM Josephine: What would it matter if I were a starving peasant woman in Egypt or a starving peasant man in China? Surely one is much like another. 8:30:37 PM Canto: Theo: I quite agree, myself. Most folks seem to learn that they were someone quite important. 8:31:53 PM Josephine: "Learn." 8:32:00 PM Josephine: I'm certain I wasn't important. 8:33:36 PM Canto: Theo: If you were reincarnated at all. 8:33:43 PM Josephine: Indeed. 8:33:47 PM *** Josephine shrugs. *** 8:33:53 PM Josephine: But I do try to keep an open mind. 8:37:25 PM Canto: Theo looks around. "What's your favorite exhibit here?" 8:38:17 PM Josephine: In the Egyptology wing? The faience I showed you earlier. 8:38:23 PM Josephine: In all the museum? 8:40:49 PM Josephine: I suppose the books don't at all count. 8:41:04 PM Canto: Theo nods! "I've only seen a small section of the exhibits myself, I've spent most of my time in the libraries." 8:43:36 PM Josephine: ... there are the statues from the Mausoleum. 8:43:59 PM Canto: Theo: Mausoleum? 8:44:20 PM Josephine: At Halicarnassus. It was, anyway. 8:45:36 PM Canto: Theo: Why those? 8:46:59 PM Josephine: They almost seem as if they could step away from their stands and walk to you. 8:49:29 PM Canto: Theo nods. "You'll have to show me, some time. I've never seen them, myself, only read about them." 8:51:04 PM Josephine: Oh, I can show you now. I'm not terribly worried you'll carry me off and ravish me, and besides, there's guards all over the museum on an occasion like this one anyway. 8:51:45 PM Josephine: ... the Sutri grave, that's another one. 8:53:30 PM Josephine: She had things made of blue glass--two vessels and a drinking horn, and then some jewelry. The colors are amazing, and it all survived since the sixth century. 8:55:59 PM Josephine: And the mummy portrait, but you've seen that. 8:56:24 PM Canto: Theo: I do hope I'm not keeping you from anything more important. 8:56:27 PM Josephine: It was on a stand near the faience. 8:56:48 PM Josephine: You forget, I've a title, that means I'm purely ornamental. 8:57:11 PM *** Josephine takes his arm and leads him to another part of the museum. True to her word there are guards posted in every room. *** 8:57:58 PM Canto: He is of course entirely a gentleman! He holds her by the arm because that is what is expected of a gentleman in this society, of course. 8:58:41 PM Josephine: That's a gold pendant from India there, quite pretty. 8:59:51 PM Josephine: And here's the Mausoleum room. 9:00:35 PM Josephine: He's missing an arm, and she, poor thing, half her face, but they still look like they could step down and face us eye to eye. 9:02:14 PM Josephine: Even the horse looks alive. 9:02:59 PM Canto: He nods, taking it all in. "You'd almost think they were petrified people rather than things carved from stone." 9:03:45 PM Josephine: ... they're not, are they? Please do tell me they're not. 9:06:17 PM Canto: Theo: Oh, no. They are stone, through and through. 9:07:29 PM Josephine: Oh thank goodness. 9:07:37 PM *** Josephine laughs a little uncertain laugh. *** 9:07:59 PM Josephine: Now let me show you the Sutri pieces. 9:08:22 PM Josephine: They found them a while ago--about twenty years back, I think, and it's all from one woman's grave. 9:08:58 PM Josephine: At Sutri. They think she was a Christian, as she had a cross, but... well, come and see. 9:09:01 PM Canto: Theo: Near Rome, yes? 9:09:05 PM *** Josephine nods. *** 9:09:32 PM *** Josephine leads him into a smaller, quieter room, to a small display case in an out-of-the-way corner. *** 9:09:50 PM Josephine: The drinking horn and the two vessels are glass. 9:11:29 PM *** Josephine stares at the pieces. *** 9:12:45 PM Josephine: I wonder who she was. She was wealthy, obviously. And probably a Christian--there's the cross, see. I wonder if she loved blue. And that peculiar brooch is one of my favorites. I can't imagine it would go with a thing I have, but it is so very distinctive. 9:13:10 PM Josephine: Perhaps it meant something to her. 9:15:09 PM Canto: He looks at the pieces. "There are birds hidden in the design... I can't read it at all, I'm sorry." 9:15:32 PM Josephine: Then it must not have meant something to anyone. 9:17:42 PM *** Josephine is crestfallen. *** 9:17:59 PM Canto: Theo shakes his head. "No. 9:18:07 PM Canto: Theo: That's not what I meant. 9:18:14 PM Canto: Theo: It's protected. 9:18:26 PM Josephine: What does that mean? 9:18:47 PM Canto: Theo: There are ways to guard against various divinations and scrying. 9:19:09 PM Canto: Theo: The broach was most likely a protective charm. 9:20:32 PM Josephine: Oh. 9:20:40 PM Josephine: And they buried it with her. Hmm. 9:22:33 PM Canto: Theo nods. "So what can we deduce from this?" 9:22:44 PM Josephine: Someone cared for her a great deal. 9:25:51 PM Canto: Theo nods. "It's a strong effect, too. It has not degraded at all, not like the amulet in the other exhibit. 9:27:17 PM Josephine: Maybe she was magic. Or the person who buried her was--a child or a spouse, or a parent. 9:28:12 PM Canto: Theo: And she had enemies or rivals who also had the arts at their disposal. 9:29:37 PM Josephine: Or just believed in taking precautions. I would, if I thought I was in danger. 9:29:49 PM Josephine: It's a beautiful brooch. 9:31:12 PM Canto: Theo: It is. 9:31:29 PM Canto: He smiles at you. "Stirs the imagination, doesn't it?" 9:32:17 PM *** Josephine smiles back. *** 9:32:18 PM Josephine: It does. 9:34:21 PM Canto: Theo: What do you think she was like? 9:34:41 PM Josephine: Apart from wealthy, there's really no way to tell. 9:35:09 PM Josephine: But if the person who buried her followed her wishes... she liked blue, obviously. And bright colors. Beautiful things, and not just beautiful, but unusual things. 9:35:17 PM Josephine: She must have been faithful. 9:35:40 PM Canto: Theo: To whom? 9:35:56 PM Josephine: God, I assume. 9:36:36 PM Canto: Theo: The cross? Could be. 9:37:59 PM Josephine: She liked beautiful things. 9:39:33 PM Canto: Theo nods. "What else?" 9:40:07 PM Josephine: I don't know. I am not a thaumaturgist, alas. 9:40:55 PM Canto: Theo: You don't have to be to use your imagination. 9:43:20 PM Josephine: ... she was a thaumaturgist. Some of them called her a witch, and she was, but she only ever did magic for good purposes, to help others, and she prayed to God about it constantly. Blue was her favorite color. To us she would have died young, but in her era they didn't live so long. 9:43:55 PM Josephine: Her husband buried her. He was a little younger than she was, and he was very wealthy. People said she had enchanted him. 9:44:12 PM Josephine: And she had. Just not with magic. Er, thaumaturgy. 9:50:37 PM Canto: Theo smiles. "I like it." 9:54:07 PM Josephine: Now it's your turn. 9:54:14 PM Canto: Theo: My turn? 9:54:16 PM *** Josephine takes his hand and tugs him to another display case. *** 9:54:39 PM Josephine: That pendant. 10:03:06 PM Canto: He looks at it. "It's a faithful reproduction of a pendant from a painting. It was a woman's favorite painting. A suitor had the pendant made for her, based on a pendant worn in the painting." 10:04:34 PM Josephine: Did it work? 10:13:36 PM Canto: He looks at you. "It caught her attention, definitely. She liked that he paid attention to what she said." 10:15:03 PM *** Josephine lowers her voice. "And did she fall terribly in love with him?" *** 10:20:51 PM Canto: Theo: With time. Not because of the pendant, of course. But because he listened. 10:21:29 PM Josephine: That is a fantastic answer, and it most certainly shows that you listen to your wife. 10:22:29 PM Canto: Theo: I'm not married. 10:23:15 PM Josephine: Oh. Are you sure? Maybe you forgot. 10:23:52 PM Canto: Theo: I'm pretty sure I would remember that. 10:25:43 PM Canto: He holds up his hands! 10:26:01 PM Canto: Theo: USually that comes with a ring, right? 10:27:07 PM Josephine: Only for ladies; I fear the men are sadly left out of such traditions. 10:27:46 PM Canto: Theo: Well. I'm unmarried. 10:28:44 PM Josephine: Well. I'm certain that once you acquire a wife, you will listen to her as well. Or perhaps you'll forget the pendant and simply go on as married couples do, ignoring each other as best they can. 10:31:13 PM Canto: Theo makes a face. "Does one 'acquire' people?" 10:32:08 PM Josephine: Are wives people? 10:33:54 PM Canto: Theo: Yes. 10:34:44 PM Josephine: I'm teasing you. How very familiar of me, I do apologize. 10:35:50 PM Canto: Theo: Oh, that's okay. I don't mind you teasing me. 10:36:35 PM Josephine: Then I shall keep on doing it. 10:36:43 PM *** Josephine smiles. *** 10:38:13 PM Canto: Theo: No promises as to whether or not I pick up on it, mind you. I can be a bit dense on those matters. 10:38:59 PM Josephine: I refuse to believe you can be dense about anything, Mr. Crafter. 10:39:49 PM Canto: Theo: You can call me Prometheus. Or Theo, as Prometheus is a bit of a mouthful. 10:40:44 PM Josephine: That is terribly familiar as well. If we're not careful, people might talk. 10:40:47 PM *** Josephine smiles. *** 10:41:03 PM Josephine: Or worse, they might not. 10:41:15 PM Canto: Theo: Which would be worse? 10:41:54 PM Josephine: I hardly know. 10:42:09 PM Josephine: I've stopped worrying about that sort of thing, truly. 10:44:28 PM Canto: Theo: That seems much simpler. 10:44:51 PM Josephine: It largely is. 10:45:24 PM Josephine: People know me; they may shake their heads that I'm alone with you for so long, but they won't jump to untoward conclusions. 10:47:00 PM Josephine: Like Caesar's wife, I am above reproach. 10:48:40 PM Canto: Theo: What do they know about you? 10:49:50 PM Josephine: They know that I'm in here boring you silly with exhibit lectures and not doing anything scandalous. 10:50:39 PM Canto: Theo: Do I seem bored? 10:50:48 PM Canto: Theo: I am very much not. 10:51:30 PM Josephine: No. But all the same, I am lecturing you a bit. 10:51:39 PM Josephine: And we aren't doing anything scandalous. 10:51:56 PM Canto: Theo: There's nothing wrong with the lectures. 10:52:27 PM Josephine: You are kindness itself. 10:54:45 PM Canto: Theo: I like learning things. Archaelogy is not a huge area of expertise. 10:55:57 PM Josephine: We shall get along famously, then. 10:56:32 PM Canto: Theo: I thought we already were. 10:57:39 PM Josephine: Of course we are. 10:58:01 PM Josephine: I had thought to continue the acquaintance, however. 10:58:21 PM Canto: Theo: I would like that. 11:00:04 PM Josephine: Excellent. 11:00:07 PM *** Josephine smiles. *** 11:01:49 PM Josephine: When would be convenient? 11:06:12 PM Canto: Theo: My calendar is pretty open these days. I've mostly been here in the library studying inter-aetheric transmission. 11:06:41 PM Josephine: I haven't seen you. But then I'm not usually looking for people. 11:06:58 PM Josephine: Well. Here is one of my cards; you may call on me at your convenience. 11:07:10 PM *** Josephine digs one of her cards out of her pocket-card-case and hands it to him. *** 11:07:51 PM Canto: He takes it, reading it before putting it in his pocket. "How soon is too soon?" 11:10:39 PM Josephine: I'm not much for proprieties, so I would say there isn't one. 11:11:43 PM Canto: Theo: Excellent. 11:13:45 PM Josephine: ... though I suppose you should let me sleep at some point. 11:13:46 PM *** Josephine smiles. *** 11:15:29 PM Josephine: Come on, let's go back to the party. 11:15:56 PM Canto: Theo holds out his arm! 11:17:03 PM *** Josephine takes it. *** 5:24:36 PM Canto: So, you were socializing with Theo. 5:28:28 PM *** Josephine was! She likes that boy a lot. :) *** 5:30:22 PM Canto: Well, for brevity's sake, we'll say the rest of the evening goes off largely without a hitch, and people begin heading home. You have to socialize a bit here and there. 5:32:05 PM *** Josephine enjoys socializing! Quite a bit. Also it's one of her duties, so to speak, as a patron of the museum and a patron's daughter. *** 5:33:33 PM Canto: But! Theo takes it upon himself to walk you to your carriage! 5:33:55 PM Canto: For an uncouth and coarse american, he does have pretty good manners! 5:34:56 PM *** Josephine appreciates that, actually, and takes his arm like a nice girl. *** 5:35:52 PM Canto: He has also not shot a gun over his head and said 'yahoo', not even once. 5:36:16 PM Canto: Theo: Thank you for making my evening much more enjoyable than it would have been otherwise. 5:40:33 PM Josephine: I could say the same, you know. 5:43:27 PM Canto: Theo: Well. Will you? 5:45:05 PM Josephine: That would be unoriginal. 5:45:33 PM Josephine: But I will say that it was very nice indeed. 5:46:07 PM Canto: Theo: Good. I was worried I was monopolizing your time and that you were simply too polite to make mention of it. 5:47:56 PM Josephine: Mmm, we have ways of escaping when we wish to do so. 5:49:32 PM Canto: Theo: Smoke bombs? I have some of those. 5:49:48 PM *** Josephine laughs. *** 5:50:02 PM Josephine: Usually I just claim to have remembered an appointment, or to see someone I need to speak with. 5:50:10 PM Josephine: And sometimes it's even true. 5:53:29 PM Canto: Theo chuckles, and opens the door of your carriage for you. "Cunning." 5:58:53 PM *** Josephine steps in. *** 5:59:17 PM Josephine: Good evening, Mr. Crafter. Prometheus. I do hope I get to see you again. 6:00:28 PM Canto: Theo takes your hand and kisses it! "And you, Baroness Blackwell. Take care." 6:00:47 PM Josephine: Josephine. Or Josie, even. 6:01:01 PM *** Josephine smiles, and heads out. *** 6:02:56 PM Canto: You head back to your home! It's another clear evening. Full moon, too! 6:04:44 PM *** Josephine loves that, but she is rather tired. She heads to bed fairly quickly, after a cup of chocolate and a bit of reading. ***